George Russell shares why he’s ‘not even thinking’ about his F1 title fight with Kimi Antonelli

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George Russell has admitted that he is not thinking about his Formula 1 world championship battle with Mercedes teammate Kimi Antonelli. 

Russell, 28, headed into the 2026 F1 season as the overwhelming favourite to become world champion. 

In Australia, Russell showed his title-winning credentials with a dominant win around Albert Park.

However, the Brit has since been beaten by Mercedes teammate Antonelli, who secured back-to-back victories in China and Japan. 

As things stand, Russell trails Antonelli by nine points, and he will be looking to close the gap at next week’s Miami Grand Prix.

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George Russell not thinking about world title amid fight with Kimi Antonelli

Despite being one of the heavy favourites for the title, Russell recently admitted that he is not thinking about the world championship.

The 28-year-old revealed that he is solely focusing on executing each session whenever he gets into his Mercedes.

Russell said to the BBC’s Chequered Flag: “I was a bit surprised about that myself. I’m just going about my process day to day. Every time I get in a race car, I don’t think about the big picture, which is winning the championship.

“I just think about here in the moment, you know, going out and qualifying. How am I going to drive the fastest lap possible for the race? How am I going to get the best race start, the best race? Trying to stand on the top step (of the podium) and just go about my business like that.

“Of course, I know that we’re in this fight, but it’s not something that I’m even thinking about. Because I know to win the championship, you’ve just got to go through those processes.”

READ MORE: David Coulthard does not feel confident about Kimi Antonelli’s title chances against George Russell

George Russell expected Kimi Antonelli to step up in 2026

Amid their title fight, Russell admitted that he expected Antonelli to challenge him after seeing what he did last year.

Russell said: “He’s a fantastic driver. I saw it last year. He showed lots of signs of great speed. But it’s very early days, and I’m sure it’s going to be very close.

“For sure, it’s quite normal coming into his second year to take a step, but as I said, it’s a very different dynamic this year when you’re kind of in a two-horse race, for now, we hope that continues.

“But, still very early days, he was very strong at the start of last year as well and as I said, let’s see when we get into the thick of it.”

Looking ahead, it is set to be a mouth-watering title fight between the two Mercedes drivers that could go down to the wire.